Newsbytes: New Redemption Games On Test; Mario Kart VR; Evo 2017;

Welcome to another weekend, where plenty of arcade gaming goodness awaits you out there. Let’s start with a new display at the Las Vegas Soho in London that has figured out a great way to greet customers:

Redemption Games A-Go-Go

Despicable Me Jellylab

First off, a new game from Andamiro that uses the Despicable Me licensed. Prior to this game, Adrenaline Amusements had been using the license for a whacker. This picture was via The Arcade Hunters who came across it at a Dave & Busters. This is a quick coin game (modified for card swipe operation) that features conveyor belts with values printed on them that you are trying to aim for the printed values. Also playing on the card collecting fad, the game vends cards featuring the Minions characters on them.

Ticket Tumbler; Wonder Wheel and The Game of Perfection

This video taken by All Castle Games in Wisconsin shows three new redemption Bay Tek Games on test, as mentioned in the sub-header. One of those titles we heard about a year ago, with the Game of Perfection being spotted on test last Summer. Wonder Wheel is another variation of their popular Big Bass Wheel games (which has already received variations such as Ticket Monster and Jewel Mine) and Ticket Tumbler is something new that is reminiscent of Pop The Lock in its simplicity + focus on a circular display and game style. Nice touch doing the retro pinball idea of lighting up a letter for a bonus. Bay Tek does a lot of testing of concepts that don’t see mass production however so don’t be surprised if they don’t end up becoming available everywhere.

Not long ago we reported that Bandai Namco was going all-in for their VR Zone concept, offering a number of arcade-style VR games for customers in Shinjuku Japan to enjoy. That concept will expand to 20 centers around the globe in the future as Namco sees if VR really is the next big thing for arcades or if it’s all hype that’s worth a few bucks while hot.

This week a full trailer was released for Mario Kart VR and as you might expect, gamers around the globe went crazy for it. The other games, well…not so much. That’s even with something that is a spiritual successor to Prop Cycle. VR has had more bad news coming along as of late as consumers just aren’t embracing it for a number of reasons. Part of that is related to content and VR not really adding enough to certain games that make them truly stand out from their flat display counterparts. This is an area that arcades/out-of-home entertainment can benefit from with the right names like Mario Kart but you’ll still have issues of cost, liability, attendants keeping an eye on machines, not all interested clients can handle VR without getting sick, etc.

Here’s the Mario Kart VR trailer that as of this writing has been seen over 200,000 times; then to compare, the VR Skiing game which at the moment only has a little over 800 views. They also released a general VR Zone trailer that shows various titles in quick snippets:

Real Arcade Games Spotted At EVO 2017

I am sure that many readers of the site are following the events of EVO 2017 and while the games being used to compete on have their arcade roots, the console iterations reign supreme. That said, you can find actual arcade cabinets there if you know where to look:

The Cosmotrons Summer Tour Begins

Just a friendly reminder that the Cosmotrons Summer Tour has begun, with the team hitting up the Analog Arcade Bar in IA first. They will be stopping by my arcade in Utah this week on Wednesday and Thursday, where I will certainly be grabbing some footage of the game to share.

2 Comments »

Rabbids VR’s cabinet would definitely work well with Mario Kart VR. It would drive sales for the game as it’s the first “official” Nintendo modern VR experience. Just get some JoyCon (or a wheel) for control and have the screen show the action to those watching. Also, it’d be nice to see new courses and karts (also make a new version of Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, make it as a kit for older cabinet).